Customer Reviews

Barnes Notes on the Old and New Testaments (Fourteen volumes)

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It has been over 20 years since I finished my studies, but a few books still hold fond memories. Of the many different commentary authors I've read, Barnes' Notes has always stood heads above all others. His writing is mellow, easy to read, not prone to unsubstantiated conjecture, reasonably thorough, and was obviously written by a person more interested in what the Bible said, not in pushing some belief. I highly recommend this set of commentaries for everyone interested in studying the Bible. I have a personal enjoyment for Calvin's works, but Barnes is not to be skipped over. A must-have.

Barnes' Notes is both an incredible and essential tool for the serious Bible student. Barnes sometimes overtranslates the Bible, but those times are few and far between. Barnes' Notes is a comprehensive reference that is difficult to put down. Barnes provides historical information at the beginning and an occasional note within the notes on the text itself about the people to whom the book was originally adressed. Barnes is not confined by the historical perimeters though. He still teaches that we are to apply the lessons to our lives and not seclude them to the times at which the documents were orignially written. In short, if you love Matthew Henry, you'll love Barnes. Barnes is definitely the next step.

This is a good buy for anyone who is studying the bible. I personally do not think one should just judge on the element of atonement, whether Jesus died JUST for the elect as most reformers think or that He died for ALL but many refuse His salvation. I personally think that this is a good commentary with a very good perspective in his conjecture. Salvation is salvation. Whether we believe in limited or unlimited atonement should not be the focus. Jesus did die for all and anyone who approaches Him can be saved. Let Him decide who He has elected and let us persuade the unbelievers to salvation through Christ.

God is not partial in revealing his Word to people after the apostles time. Textus receptus in which KJV based on is very accurate. God has preserved his Word for centuries tru churches. The new discoveries of MSS in modern time which were rejected by early church fathers are fake. The older the MSS, the less reliable they are. God would never had hidden his Word for more than 1800 years before they were revealed by modern day schloras. The old time commentators were candid, spiritual minded christians and devotional in writing style. Nothing can be added to God Word from outside. The old commentary sets such as of Matthew Henry's, Matthew Poole's, John Gill"s and Barne's notes are all reliable and very safe to read. I love these commentary sets so much

Barnes is an Arminian, i.e. He does not believe in protestant reformed theology, as taught by Martin Luther, John Calvin and all the great names of the reformation. As such I can't recommend this book, I consider the commentary very biased against the truth.